Fateful Encounter
by Samsung Super Aladdin Boy II
Summary: After all that's been said and done, there's still a lot left to be said and done; to be learnt. N is free, though he doesn't quite grasp this concept yet; he doesn't know how to start living free. A fateful encounter with a fated legend might help light the path onwards.


**Okie dokes, author's notes about the actual fic for once! The words "fateful encounter" (or "destined meeting" in Japanese versions) appear on the information regarding where or how a Pokémon is encountered. This appears on event Pokémon or those transferred from XD or Colosseum. Now, as regards to when this is set: in between the events of Black/White and Black 2/White 2. If we go off the timeline of Pokémon history from Bulbapedia, it's about six years since Red became champion, making him sixteen. Let's just say N is seventeen, k?**

**I tried to write something serious, and this is what happened. (Totally was not gonna say "and I succeeded" like in the first movie. Heh. Because I don't know if I did.) Without further ado, enjoy!**

**I don't own Pokémon!**

* * *

"Hello?"

N had called out, and he got the answer he expected: a non-existent one. He laughed, loudly and shrilly. He stopped, fearing passing out due to wasting precious air. He settled for a small chuckle, though it had a slightly bitter tone to it. He was finally alone, allowed to pursue whatever he wished without anyone telling him what to do. So one of the first things he did after dropping onto the top of a freezing cold mountain in a foreign country was laugh like a madman. Amusing.

He shook his head and sighed; his monologues were getting him nowhere. He began trudging forward, hoping to find a person. Anyone would do. He wasn't sure what he was here for; he didn't know what he wanted. But he had been getting impatient and restless. He needed to go. So he left, ended up on top of… he wracked his brain for a moment, _That's right, Mt. Silver_.

He stopped, ignoring the sudden whip of wind to his face. Mt. Silver. That was… in the middle of Kanto and Johto. On the other side of the world, far off from Unova. What was he doing here? Why was he trudging up this mountain for seemingly no reason, and why didn't he fly down for help? Why didn't he go home?

_What's wrong with me?_

He shook his head, angrily this time, and continued walking. There had to be a reason he was here. He couldn't have just gone around the whole _world_ for nothing. He continued on for what seemed hours. He was beginning to get thirsty, but did not drink water for fear of it freezing within his lungs. There were no Pokémon out. Well, he hadn't encountered any. Was it so cold that even the locals did not want to draw from their hiding places?_ I should have considered a few more layers_, thought the green haired boy.

He barely noticed the cold. His body remained neutral to pretty much anything; heat, cold, moisture, pain. He remained neutral to most things, not bothering to fake opinions on things he did not care for. He vaguely noticed a stinging on his wrist…

So what was this determination to conquer this mountain? He remembered, right? He had to have; he remembered the mountain. This was something that was meant to be irrevocable, yet it was taken from him. He remembered flashes of a magazine, a childish laugh and squeal, the magazine being snatched away and a loud voice…

_Knowledge_. That's why he was here. He needed to learn. Right? Being hidden away from the world by that man, the man who had given him his name… it had left him with mostly just his childlike innocence to go on, no matter how intelligent he was.

Okay, so he was here for knowledge. What kind? What did he need to learn? What was there to learn? He'd read books upon books upon books; he could solve the most complex algorithms easily in his head and finish the thickest of books in no longer than a day if left to his own devices. What was left?

He stopped and glanced up, all he saw was brown. A wall. When had he reached it? He looked right to left, and stopped when he saw an entrance to a cave. He wondered if he should even bother going there, when a vicious Pokémon may live inside. He supposed he could peek in and see if there were signs of such a thing…

He walked over there, slowly. He reached the entrance and peeked in, observing the shadows dancing on the walls. Fire. He listened. He couldn't hear any Ponyta or Rapidash, which meant the fire belonged to a non-native Pokémon or person.

_…Should I go in or… turn around and leave?_ He was just about to turn around and leave, when a boy appeared in front of him, along with a Pikachu. N smiled faintly, you didn't see many of those back at Unova. He looked at the boy again. Red eyes, red hat, red jacket… More flashes; all his books stripped away, locked away from his Pokémon for a week, shouts, "_You have more important things to be concerned with!_"

Those fiery red eyes compelled him to battle. He reached for a ball from his pack, but the boy shook his head and slowly walked deeper into the cave. Being horrible at reading people, N worried if he could trust the boy – _Since when did I worry about this kind of thing?_ – he turned to the Pikachu, who nodded and waited for N to follow.

They reached the fire. Pikachu patted a log near the fire, so N sat there. Suddenly his wrist was grabbed and pulled to his side, and something cold and wet applied to it. He turned to look, somewhat startled. The boy was pressing a wet cloth to his wrist. As it was pulled away, N noticed the blood on it and looked at his wrist. _When did that happen?_ The boy seemed to notice his confusion and did not question, opting to wrap it in a bandage instead.

He was handed a bowl of lukewarm pasta and a glass of water. He thanked the boy before downing the glass in a single go (he found, to his pleasant surprise, that it did not freeze in his lungs) and starting on the pasta. The boy simply watched him, evidently not hungry. "Aren't you hungry?" asked N. The boy shook his head in reply. "You don't talk much," N stated. The boy nodded.

He turned to the Pikachu. _He doesn't talk much, you know, he finds words to be rather mundane_. N blinked. It was true that Pokémon never lied, however, he'd never heard such a sophisticated voice from a Pokémon. How did a Pokémon gain such a voice after being stuck on a mountain for a long while?

_He does talk to us. Every now and then. Just small, affectionate things. We'll tell him he doesn't have to if he doesn't want to, because we know already; he doesn't have to tell us. But he says he wants to. He doesn't talk to people, though. Not often._

The other boy looked at him questioningly. Not being able to figure out what the other wanted, he turned to the Pikachu again. _He wants to know how and why you're conversing with me, a Pokémon._

He looked back at the other boy, who now looked almost curious. It put him off a little, he wasn't used to having such eyes on him. "I… Pokèmon are easier to talk to. They never tell lies and speak from the heart. Whereas people are, for me at least, hard to read and understand. It's much easier to get close to Pokémon. People only ever speak while thinking of themselves." He thought of that young trainer he met who loved their Pokémon greatly. "Generally," he added.

The boy's eyes became slightly brighter. He opened his mouth, closed it and then opened it again. "I agree." At this, the Pikachu jumped and stared at its master as if he had just grown several heads. "But… you can't just write everyone straight off," said the boy. Pikachu's jaw fell to the ground.

Pikachu walked deeper into the cave._ He's talking so much in such little time! And to a stranger! I'm done, I'm out. I don't want to see anymore!_

N stared at the little mouse as it toddled away._ This Pokémon really speaks like a human…_ N settled into thought, not really sure if he could do anything else at this point. It was a while after this he heard a rustling from his pack beside him. He turned his neck to see the boy fishing for his Pokéballs. He went to retrieve them, but the boy had released them. They looked around questioningly, and the boy motioned towards bowls of food on the floor. The Pokémon moved towards the food and began eating. N wasn't sure when the food had been laid out, but he thanked the boy nonetheless.

They both watched the Pokémon eat in silence. When they were done, N recalled them, not wanting them to sleep in the cold cave. N turned to the other and, against his better judgement, said to him, "Your Pikachu was under the impression that you very rarely speak."

The boy's eyes turned cold; it reminded him of the slowly deteriorating music box back in his room… _No, that couldn't be my room any longer_… It made him regret opening his mouth at all.

"That's true," said the boy.

"So why do you speak to me so easily?"_ Why am I asking? It's not any business of mine_, he thought. _Why do I want to know, anyway?_

N thought the boy's eyes became brighter again, but he turned away. "You're different from everyone else who comes up here. You're not worried about me, or want to battle me. You're here for reasons relating to yourself, even if you do want to battle me. It's not just beating the 'legend'," he said quietly. N blinked. The boy could read him so easily! But he lived in solitude! _He has to be at least a year younger than me, though_, thought N, blinking again.

"You're very innocent." The boy smiled faintly.

N abruptly stood. "So I've been told! I've figured that out! I don't know who I am! I was used and forgotten, given a name nobody calls me because they don't know it! Because the name doesn't have a personality to match!" The boy, the boy who only let emotion show through his eyes, was only somewhat surprised; it was nothing to how shocked he was at himself. He sat down. He quietly continued, "But I'll figure that out… I'll be worth knowing the name of, I'll be my own person…"

The boy smiled, properly smiled, and N had a feeling that if the Pikachu had still been here it would be fainting in shock. "I'll be looking forward to it."

N had just spilled his heart to a boy he didn't know for very long; he didn't even know his name. But he had managed to earn his wholehearted support for something _he_ wanted. He's never had that from _anyone_ before. "Thank you… That really does mean a lot." He wasn't just referring to the words, he was referring to the smiles and voice. Though he had known the boy for no longer than a few hours, he knew those things were special. He smiled again, and they sat in companionable silence.

N had spent the night there, as it had gotten too dark and windy to fly away. Even if it hadn't been, he thought he would have stayed, anyway. His business was yet to be finished.

* * *

The night before, he had gone to get his sleeping bag, when he was informed that wouldn't keep him warm on the mountain on a winter night. So they each curled up on one side of the boy's Snorlax – no, it did not roll over and flatten either of them – and they had been kept relatively warm.

He had been poked awake and met with bright eyes full of anticipation – it seemed the boy had managed to retain some innocence, somehow – and they had eaten. Them, and all the Pokémon. It was peculiar watching the boy interact with his Pokémon – they didn't need words at all. They moved and communicated in absolute silence, and still understood each other. N understood his Pokémon and they understood him; they even conversed, but that required speaking, which they did not.

N checked that his team was doing okay, and the other did the same. The boy then reached for a book, looking like he had great intent to read it but then snatched his hand back as if it had been burnt. He turned to N with an excited, almost crazed and frenzied look in his eyes. N jumped slightly. This seemed out of character for the boy even to him, and Pikachu was watching on with apprehension.

He pointed at N with a flourish much reminiscent of any typical anime and exclaimed, "Battle!" Verily, he seemed to be jumping with excitement.

Pikachu was facepalming._ I can't deal with this anymore… Did a weird plant go in his food…?_

"What? Now?" said N, scrambling to release a Pokémon since they had long since returned to their balls. _This boy makes me act so ignorant… He said… innocent…_ Though they where moving relatively quickly, everything seemed to go slow for a few seconds.

Then, when Pikachu dashed in front of the other and made a defensive stance, when the boy pulled his hat around and a determined gleam set in his eye… he knew why he was here.

"This boy's already won a few badges! And he always stands up to Team Rocket! He's going to be the best! I want to be like him!"

A small boy laughed. Yet a hand was raised, and loud shouts heard, and that's where it was stripped away. His childhood, his freedom, gone. "_You're a king now, no time for such superfluous things! I won't hear of it!_" And all the laughter and smiles were dropped, to be replaced by training and stoic masks. He was an adult from that point.

But in this moment it was returned. In this moment, his dream was returned, as was his determination. So he laughed. He laughed loudly and happily like he did so many years before, unlike the laugh of the day before which seemed so long ago.

He was going to verse _Red_, the champion. He was going to _live_.

"A battle you want? An epic battle you shall have!"

And so it began. A spectacular battle which rumbled the cave, which caused them to gradually make their way out into the open, raw air with the battle. It lasted for seemingly hours, and not a single word uttered on the opposition's part.

N had battled his until-now-revoked idol and he had been on the side he had expected: the loosing one. But it had been the most exhilarating battle either of them had participated in. N may have not expected to win, but he did expect the battle to be of awesome proportions that might very well define his next turn.

That wasn't to say N's effort was poor, quite the contrary; it had been incredibly close. N's Zoroark had dropped just barely before Red's Pikachu, which had both been their last Pokémon.

N had begun to thank Red for the battle, but he was interrupted. "No, thank you! Thank you for the greatest battle I have ever seen! I've never even seen Unova-native Pokémon in person before!" and he laughed, much like N did not all that long before.

A herd of Ponyta and Rapidash ran past, and they both stopped and watched. They watched as their fires rippled and warmed the air slightly, and N thought he might have caught sight of a shiny one, the blue flames deviating from the mainstream red and orange for a moment before being hidden from view. They then returned to the cave and tended to their Pokémon, settling back into silence.

* * *

N stayed for the rest of that day while his Pokémon rested. In the meantime, Red had leant N a book and went to read his own, and after not very long at all, Red was asked for another. So it went, Red would not get very long to read his book before he was interrupted by N, asking for another. Eventually Red got up and tugged on N's sleeve, signalling for him to follow him. N followed Red deeper into the cave, where there were several bookshelves. _That's rather odd_, thought N, but he smiled his thanks at the other before taking as many books as he could possibly carry before following Red back. He assured the ruby eyed boy that he'd put the books back in their respective places.

And that is how it continued for the better part of the rest of the day. There were breaks to eat and feed the Pokémon, and every couple of hours or so N would return to the bookshelves and make his way back with his arms (and sometimes even his head) laden with books. By the end of the day, N had finished all the books in Red's bookshelves while Red had finished three books. Before they had gone to bed, Red looked as if he was going to ask how N could read that quickly, but closed his mouth, smiled and shook his head. He snuggled into Snorlax, as did N for the second night in a row.

N stayed awake for a long while after Red's breathing evened out. He wondered if he should leave or not. He enjoyed the other boy's company and he was sure he was not a burden on the other boy, known just by his silent but friendly manner. He could train with the other boy, which would reap many benefits for him and his party. If he were to leave, he would surely miss the other boy's company a fair bit. Despite all this, he didn't think he could stay. After all, his journey had just truly begun, he needed to explore the world and find himself first. But he most certainly would not leave without a goodbye. _No, not goodbye. See you later_, N revised. He fell into a peaceful sleep.

Again, he was poked awake. He smiled at the other boy, who had evidently woken him later today as breakfast had been prepared beforehand. They had eaten and fed the Pokémon exactly as they had the morning before. N had turned to Red purposefully, and the other boy, sensing intent, gave him his undivided attention. N stood up and began packing his things before he began, "I need to leave today… Red." _It's odd saying his name_. Red looked shocked and slightly saddened, but nodded.

N bent down to his knees and called Pikachu over. He scratched its chin and said, "Thanks for being our little interpreter!" Pikachu rubbed his hand in reply. Red chuckled.

Red followed N to the entrance to the cave. "I'll be back soon enough, Red! You'll know my name! You'll be proud to know it!" N called, before releasing his dragon, hopping on it and flying off. A faint and far-off "Thanks for everything!" was heard by the ruby eyed boy, who smiled.

Red took his hat off and bellowed after him, "I'll be waiting!" Another boy dropped off of his Pidgeot, and stared into the air white with snow, perplexed, before calling his bird back and staring at the first boy as if he had turned into a shiny Ho-Oh.

Against his better judgement as he was not expecting an answer, he asked, "Red, who the _hell_ was that?!" He had gotten more than he had bargained for and was left to stand with his jaw touching the ground when the other boy returned his hat to his head, smiled and replied before turning back to the cave.

"A legend in the making."

* * *

**I'm not entirely sure about the quality of this one (that's for you, the readers, to inform me of ;D), but this is the one closest to my heart, for some odd reason. *Hurrah for sappy moments!* Thanks for reading!**

**–Samsung Super Aladdin Boy II**


End file.
